Aurier’s performance could decide the game against Olympiacos

Tottenham Hotspur start their Champions League campaign away at Olympiacos.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Serge Aurier earned a lot of plaudits after an impressive display against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday. The Ivorian delivered a very good assist to Son Heung-min’s second strike while also playing a part in Patrick van Aanholt’s own goal.

On his first start after a ton of speculation surrounding his future in the summer, the former PSG man was brilliant both in attack and in defence. With Kieran Tripper now at Athletico Madrid, Aurier is Tottenham’s most experienced right-back but games ahead will not be as straight forward as the one against Palace on Saturday.

On Wednesday, Aurier will have a slightly different game against Olympiacos compared to the one against Eagles. The Greek giants are on a high after beating Volos 5-0 in the Greek Super League on Sunday. Pedro Martins’ side’s biggest threat comes on the left flank, an area Aurier will be responsible for if he starts midweek.

Daniel Podence and Leonardo Koutris are arguably two of the best left-sided players in Greece and their combination proved to be hugely beneficial for Olympiacos last season. The duo contributed to 25 goals in all competitions last season and Koutris already has two assists in three games so far.

Aurier is a massive outlet for Spurs on their attacks but positional indiscipline could see Podence and Koutris cause serious damage at the other end. Pochettino must find the right balance on the right flank to have any chance of getting the three points at a difficult away ground.

Aurier’s performance on Wednesday could potentially make or break his season and with the likes of Walker-Peters and Davinson Sanchez both being used in that position already, any inconsistency could cost him a starting spot for the games to come.

Serge Aurier of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on…